JBS Highlights 12/21-12/27: Chanukah Reflections; Arab Zionist Rawan Osman; Activist Art; The Future of Peace

Watch JBS on Optimum 138, Fios 798, Spectrum 219 and 830, Comcast X-1 Box 1684, Astound Broadband, DirecTV 388, Astound Broadband 269, SEC 127, and streamed on Roku under “educational”, Apple TV, Amazon Fire, ZipWaveTV 29, and www.jbstv.org For a complete and timely schedule and other television providers, go to www.jbstv.org

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All Times are ET and are Subject to Change

Light the Menorah with JBS!

Chanukah Night 8

With Rabbi Justin Pines

Sunday - 5:30pm & 10:00pm

Monday - 1:30am

THE WEEKLY PARSHA ON JBS

Torah Parsha: Vayigash

Rabbinic luminaries Rabbi Jonathan Sacks z”l and Rabbi Shlomo Riskin offer

timeless wisdom from the Torah portion, guiding life and learning for the week ahead.

Parsha Vayigash recounts Joseph revealing himself to his brothers and the family’s reunion in Egypt, reminding us of the power of reconciliation, responsibility, and the possibility of healing.

Monday & Thursday following from Jewish 101

Friday - 5:30pm & Saturday - 12:30pm

Sunday December 21

JFNA General 2025: Afternoon Plenary

Leading voices from journalism, policy, communal leadership, and the family of Yitzhak Rabin come together to ask whether lasting peace is still possible and what a realistic future for Israelis and Palestinians might look like in this afternoon plenary in partnership with The SAPIR Debates.

Sunday - 7:00pm & 11:00pm

Wednesday - 1:00pm; Thursday - 10:00am

Monday December 22

In the Spotlight with Abigail Pogrebin: Laura Katzman - Ben Shahn, On Nonconformity

Abigail Pogrebin meets author Laura Katzman to discuss her new book on Ben Shahn, the Lithuanian-born immigrant artist whose socially engaged work championed civil rights, confronted injustice, and shaped modern American political art.

Monday - 8:00pm & 11:00pm

Tuesday - 2:00am, 7:00am & 11:00am

Wednesday - 5:00am; Thursday - 2:00pm

Friday - 4:00pm; Saturday - 7:30pm

Rabbi Sacks z"l: The Big Questions

Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks z”l brings his Jewish wisdom and insights to the big questions that shape how we live and what we believe.

Monday - 8:30pm & 11:30pm

Tuesday - 2:30am, 7:30am & 11:30am

Wednesday - 4:30am & 2:30pm

Fri - 11:30am; Sat - 4:30am & 9:00pm

Tuesday December 23

TEXTing IRL: Jewish Disagreement in Public and Private

Elana Stein Hain and Jeremy Burton, Executive Director of the JCRC of Greater Boston, examine the growing fractures within Jewish communal life through the lens of Parashat Vayigash, wrestling

with questions of relationship, unity and advocacy.

Tuesday - 7:30pm & 10:00pm

Wednesday - 1:00am, 4:00am & 11:00pm

Thursday - 5:30pm, Friday 5:30am

Saturday - 5:00pm & 11:00pm

Jewish Insights with Justin Pines: Malka Simkovich - Chanukah Episode 2

From the "passive-aggressive" letters sent between Jerusalem and Egypt

to the dramatic miracles recorded in the Book of Maccabees, Dr. Malka Simkovich reveals the "real" story of the Maccabean revolt in part two of this Chanukah conversation with Justin Pines.

Tuesday - 8:00pm & 11:00pm

Wednesday - 2:00am & 10:00am

Thursday - 5:00am & 7:00am

Friday - 9:00am & 8:30pm

Saturday - 8:30am & 4:00pm

Wednesday December 24

Defending Israel with David Harris: Rawan Osman

David Harris is joined by Arab Zionist Rawan Osman, content creator and founder of Arabs Ask, a platform advocating for peace and normalization between

Arab countries and Israel.

Wednesday - 7:00pm & 11:00pm

Thu - 4:30am,11:30am, 6:30pm & 10:00pm

Fri - 5:00am, 7:00am, 8:30am & 12:30pm

Saturday - 8:00pm

Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch: Bondi Beach

Rabbi Ammi Hirsch reflects on how Western institutions have failed to prevent an increasingly dangerous environment for Jewish communities, warning that even the full light of the Chanukah menorah cannot dispel the shadows facing Jews today.

Wednesday - 7:30pm

Thursday - 8:30am

Friday - 4:30am, 7:30am, 11:00am,

1:30pm & 4:30pm

Saturday - 5:30pm & 8:30pm

Thursday December 25

Totally Booked with Zibby: Jeanine Cummins - Speak To Me of Home

New York Times bestselling author Jeanine Cummins joins Zibby to discuss Speak To Me of Home, a multigenerational story exploring identity, belonging, loss of language, and how fiction sparks empathy and difficult conversations.

Thursday - 7:30pm

Friday - 1:00am, 4:00am & 1:00pm

Saturday - 9:30pm

NEWS & ANALYSIS

Jerusalem Minute

JNS Bureau Chief Alex Traiman and journalist Josh Hasten break down the week’s events in Israel, offering clear,timely news and analysis on the Jerusalem Minute.

Monday - 7:00pm

Tue - 4:00am, 10:00am, 1:00pm

Wednesday - 7:00am

ILTV News 

ILTV reports from Israel followed by JBS Daily News with Teisha Bader

Monday - Thursday at 6:00pm & Friday at 5:00pm

ILTV News Sunday at 5:00pm

Good Week Israel

Positive stories from Israel of heroism, unity and support

Mondays at 6:30pm

Insider

ILTV reports and interviews

Tuesdays at 6:30pm

On L’Chayim - Classic Conversations with Mark S. Golub z”l

Art of Arthur Szyk

Irvin Ungar discusses the life and work of Polish-born Jewish artist Arthur Szyk, who worked primarily as a book illustrator and political artist who used his work to fight Hitler.

Monday - 9:00pm

Tuesday - 12:00am, 3:00am, 3:00pm

Shlomo Riskin

Shlomo Riskin, founder of Ohr Torah Stone, describes the influence upon him of Rav Soloveitchik z”l and the LubavItcher Rebbe z”l, and discusses his disagreements with today’s Chief Rabbinate of Israel.

Tuesday - 9:00pm

Wednesday - 12:00am, 3:00am & 3:00pm

Composer Rob Mathes

Grammy Award–winning composer, arranger, conductor, and singer Rob Mathes reflects on his musical journey, discusses the Chanukah songs he wrote for his annual holiday concert in collaboration with Mark, and performs “Light in the Window” with his daughter, Sarah.

Wednesday - 9:00pm

Thursday - 12:00am, 3:00am & 3:00pm

Saturday - 6:00pm

Neshama Carlebach

Grammy Award winning singer, songwriter and educator Neshama Carlebach talks about her personal journey, her music and how she has overcome the cancel culture that impacted her life and career.

Thursday - 9:00pm

Friday - 12:00am, 3:00am & 3:00pm

JEWISH STUDIES

Dimensions of the Daf - Talmud Study with Rabbi Mordechai Becher

Do a Favor

What one does or does not owe a person who does one a favor is the topic of Rabbi Mordechai Becher's Talmud lesson on this week's Dimensions of the Daf.

Sunday - 9:00am

Monday - 4:00am

On Treating Gentiles

Rabbi Becher discusses what the Torah, Talmud, and various rabbinical sources teach about the relationship between Jews and Gentiles and the Jews' responsibility to other peoples of the world.

Sunday - 9:30am

Monday - 4:30am

Jewish 101 - Jewish Tradition and Midrash with Rabbi Mark S. Golub z"l

The Exodus

What it means to be a "Jew" , and Jewish sensitivity to the pain of one's enemies are explored through the Exodus story with rabbinic commentary of the midrash.

Monday - 9:00am & 4:00pm

Thu - 9:00am & 4:00pm; Sat - 1:00am

From The Aleph-Bet - JBS series for anyone of any age who wishes to learn how to read and understand Hebrew used in the experience of Jewish life.

Blessings, Part 2

In this second segment on "Blessings," learn to read and understand the Hebrew that comprises many Jewish blessings, and what the Hebrew for "king of the universe" actually conveys.

Tuesday - 9:00am & 4:00pm